The Sword Room

Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). In another place he said that the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). In 2:2 of the same epistle the apostle said that when he first went to the Corinthians he determined to know nothing among them but Christ Jesus and him crucified.

Of course Paul went beyond this basic message in the process of teaching and discipling converts: in fact most of our New Testament theology is found in the Pauline Epistles. But I don’t think it’s a stretch to say everything else Paul wrote and taught was an elaboration of the simple word of the cross.

And think of it–is it not the gospel message that is so hated, maligned, and caricatured by the world? Satan hates Jesus and the message of His death, burial, and resurrection because he knows it is God’s instrument in the hands of believers to bring life to the unregenerate.

When I look back over the years I think of those individuals whose lives have been changed by the gospel. Little nine-year-old Diane, who stood by as I tried to lead her dying father to Jesus and years later met me in a restaurant with her Christian husband and kids to tell me she had been saved that day. Chuck, the deacon I met in a church I visited three years ago, who told me he had trusted Jesus Christ shortly after I had talked with him for two hours on a cold December day in 1978 when he was home for Christmas break from WSU. Or Molly, the widow from Reno, Nevada, who called me on the air when I had a radio show in Albuquerque and was saved through the simple word of Christ. She stayed up all night reading her Bible and then woke me up at five in the morning after she had called the radio station to get my phone number. The next time she was in town to visit her daughter we had her out to the church to give her testimony.

The simple message of Jesus had done what no amount of religion, self-help, and psychobabble could accomplish–it brought them into living union with the God-Man and only mediator between God and man–Christ!

The brings us to the events of the past week. But let me set this up with some context. In 1978 I was 26 years old, fresh out of Bible college, married under two years with one child and another on the way. I was pastoring a little Baptist church near Birch Bay, Washington. Lee and Nita were a couple about five or six years older than us with some small children who attended our Sunday School. I had a casual acquaintance with them through a couple in our church and had gone grouse hunting with Lee and the other guy. Late one night I received a call from Nita, who asked if I could come over because Lee was upset and ready to walk out on her. When I arrived they informed me their marriage was on the rocks. I can’t even remember what the specific problems were.

Here I was a young man with little experience as a husband and father. I had never taken a single counseling or psychology class, and was as yet unaware of such timeless and powerful truths as men are from Mars and women are from Venus, etc. All I knew was that we are all sinners and sin is the root of every human problem. I shared the gospel with Lee and Nita that night and they both trusted Jesus. I went over to the home for a few weeks and did follow up studies. They started attending church, were baptized, and went through all the necessary hoops to join the church. You cannot imagine my joy at this living example of the power of God’s word in action.

My joy was doused at the business meeting at which Lee and Nita were to be accepted into the membership. The first item on the agenda was the need for a new church vacuum cleaner. One deacon was convinced we needed to purchase a Hoover, while another was a staunch Kirby man. Things escalated into an ugly shouting match that went on for several minutes and resulted in Lee and Nita walking out. Later Lee told me that if that was how Christians in churches act then he couldn’t see any sense in being part of a church. Sadly, I couldn’t really argue with him. I saw Lee a few times after that, and we eventually lost touch with one another. Still, my memory of him was a fond one because he was such a nice guy–a real regular guy you could hang out with and be yourself, a guy you could BS with or talk serious. I always believed that he and Nita had genuinely trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior on that night so many years earlier.

So last week I had a happy blast from the past. Last Sunday night I got a call from Lee, now retired and living in Kentucky. I was not home to receive the call, and the next morning I had received two calls from Lee already. Finally Lee reached me and dispelled any worries I had about this being bad news. I could hear Nita coaching Lee in the background as he told me an amazing story.

Lee had been contemplating retirement for some time after 45 years as a technician in the telephone industry. He had been thinking much lately about his relationship with God, and he was at that point in life where he wanted God to demonstrate His reality and presence. So one night Lee was finishing a very long day working alone on what should have been a two man job. Tired and a bit careless he needed to connect a couple really heavy wires carrying 800 amps of current. He couldn’t find his special insulated pliers normally used on such applications and grabbed a set of metal-handle pliers. The result was a light show that left the wiring in the facility fried and two nearby power transformers blown. On the floor was a melted pair of pliers and Lee standing there with a blackened hand–completely unharmed!

Lee knew it was time to not only retire, but to get right with the Lord. He called to tell me the story as well as tell me they were plugged into a little church there in rural Kentucky, and Lee is assisting in the building of a new addition to the existing church. I called Lee back later that evening to talk more and the excitement in his voice was unmistakable. We reminisced about how he and Nita had trusted Jesus some 34 years earlier, and How to the Lord 34 years is not even the blink of an eye. I was honored to think Lee thought enough of me and our friendship to call me with such great news.

No, I am not going to give up on studying theology. But with the time remaining for me on this earth I plan to get back to the basics of the gospel. People are lost without Jesus, and all the humanistic self-help, psychobabble, and feel-good jargon will never replace the good old-fashioned word of the cross. The grass withers and the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever

Recently I was talking to a mom whose adult son was raised in the church but has since rejected the faith he once professed. His mom commented that she would really like to see him get back into church, as though that would remedy the problem. I understand what she meant: if he could get around Christian people his own age maybe that would influence him to repent and get right with God. As a mom she has little impact on his thinking–after all, what twenty-something child listens to his mom. All her attempts to talk to him about spiritual matters come across as nagging and preachy.

The social element is an important one for all of us, but for young people especially. But it is not the core issue. The real problem with any sinner is a matter of the heart. The flesh is in rebellion against God and hates him and His Word. The flesh is more than willing to sit through church. We see God in the Old Testament rebuking the priests and false prophets over and again. I just read a passage in Jeremiah where God sent him in to speak judgment against his people while they were assembled for worship in the temple. In the New Testament we read accounts where Jesus did battle with demons right in a synagogue service in Galilee. The world, flesh, and devil are quite content to don their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes and attend church.

Corporate worship has its place: I’m not bashing it. But public church services are supposed to be a place of celebration for those whose hearts have already been regenerated by the Spirit of God. What that mom’s son or any other sinner needs is to be made spiritually alive on the inside. What good does it do for a person who is still dead in sin to sit through a church service, unless it leads to a change of heart?

This morning I was reading in Jeremiah 31 about God’s promise to write His laws on the hearts of His people and forgive their lawless deeds. This same promise is repeated in Hebrews 8:8-12. The means God uses to bring about the life-changing new birth is the simple gospel message spoken through normal believers like you and me. As we interact with others throughout the day we are rubbing elbows with human beings created in the image of God. That image has been marred by sin to where people in their natural state are alive physically but dead spiritually. If they remain in this state of spiritual death throughout life and die physically in that condition they will spend eternity separated from God in a place so horrible that Jesus said it would be better to hack off an arm or gouge out an eye than go there. It is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched. We must not lose sight of this sobering truth.

The gospel will never be cool, but it will always be the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). The message of the cross will always be foolishness to those who are perishing; but it will always be the power of God to those who are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18). You need not act like an idiot or a jerk to offend people–and I pray you never do. But even when you share that simple message with someone you have a friendship or family relationship with you must not be surprised when they turn up their noses at it. This is what the flesh always does because that is all it can do.

The assurance we have as believers in the sovereign God of Scripture is that He has purposed to save some. If we know that He saves sinners we need not resort to gimmicks or hard-sell techniques. Our power of persuasion is worthless unless it is accompanied by the simple gospel message of faith alone in Christ alone–the Christ of the Bible, God in the flesh, crucified and resurrected. It was this message God used to transform your heart and life, and it is what he will use when you trust Him and stick to His plan. That is our mission as the church scattered in the world.

I pray for that mom and her son. I know well the pain of friends and relatives headed for a Christless eternity. But God is in control and He saves sinners. He draws them, regenerates them, gives them faith, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies them. We have no control over any-one’s salvation. Therefore let us be diligent to faithfully present the good news lovingly to those in our circle of relationships as the Lord gives opportunity. He will save sinners according to His will, and we will be his instruments of life.

Often people ask me why we should pray for the lost or witness if God is completely sovereign over the choices of His creatures. My response is: That being the case, why not pray and witness? You can’t lose.

A few years ago when I was having lunch in a local restaurant I was approached by a young lady with a husband and two kids in tow. She said, “Do you remember me?” Quite honestly I had no idea who she was. She told me her name and explained she was the daughter of a man I had been called upon to visit twenty years earlier as a young pastor. The man was recovering from a heart attack, and a family friend asked me to go try and talk to him about his soul. The man was patronizing and went through the motions of trusting Christ. He never exhibited any fruit of conversion and died several years later. Standing by was a chubby little ten year old girl–his youngest daughter.

She was saved that day as I talked with her dad. She prayed along with us. She never attended the church where I was pastor because it was several miles from there home; but she did go to Sunday school closer to home and later married the son of missionaries. All these years later she was introducing herself along with her family. She thanked me for coming to the home that day so many years earlier to share the gospel with her dad–and her.

Just yesterday at church the pastor opened up the service for a sharing of thanksgiving for the Lord’s blessings. One of the elders turned and pointed me out. He said he was thankful for the day clear back in 1978 when a friend had brought him out to see me at the church I was pastoring. He was home from college on Christmas break and struggling with some personal issues. I remember sharing my testimony and the gospel with him. He went back to college shortly thereafter, got saved, and married a girl in a local church near the campus. Many years later they moved back to our little town, and he was instrumental in leading his parents and older brother to Christ. For nearly three decades I was unaware of all this until I left my last pastorate and started attending a nearby little rural church where this guy and his family attend. Then he told me the story. I was really blown away by it

You just never know what will happen when you share the gospel with someone. There is so much power in the story of Christ and what He did. Remember this today as you interact with people. The word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. It’s not about how smart or clever we think we are. It’s about what God can do through us with that simple message.

In more ways than one the old saying is true that no news is good news. Last night my ritual surfing of the cable “news” channels left me crushed under a wave of bad news and blaming. The oil spill in the gulf has not been capped yet and it is Obama’s fault. No wait, it is BP’s fault. Then again, that Bush and Cheney might be up to their old tricks–seems like everything else has been dumped on their doorstep. Fingers pointing in every direction except inward. No wonder the president can’t decide whose ass to kick.

Then there is the tragic story from Peru where it looks like a sure bet that Joran Vander Sloot is guilty of choking the life out of yet another female victim. Add to that the abysmal economic condition of the nation in general and states like California specifically. Soaring unemployment,  and wars all over the world. Israel bashed by the United Nations. I hear no one saying these are the best of times and the worst of times. Pretty much just the former.

Yesterday I talked with a man who told me that this world sucks. It is so bad that he sees very little, if anything, good about it. And going home to be with the Lord would be such a blessing. Who can disagree that leaving this world for heaven would not be far better? Paul seemed to feel that way in the first chapter of Philippians. Jesus said he had prepared dwelling places for us there, and no doubt they would put even the best earthly mansion to shame for comfort.

But I am not ready to don a white robe and sit atop yonder hillside waiting to be airlifted to glory. Not just because I reject the concept of a secret pre-trib rapture. Honestly I don’t think the world is all bad. When the Bible speaks of the world as evil and under the thumb of Satan it is referring to the totality of humanity in opposition to God. To call this world bad is not the same as saying the whole cosmos is bad. In fact God thought it was pretty good after he finished it. Now it is true that sin has affected even the physical earth, but general revelation through creation and conscience do still point to the glory of God. We can rejoice in this daily at every point in time and space. The blessedness of marriage and family love is very good. The fellowship with other believers, such as we enjoyed last night at fight club, was really good. Pizza, sushi, pulled pork, and ice cream are all good–if not for the health at least to the taste.

Best of all, there is good news amid all the negative headlines. Jesus is Lord, and He is alive in heaven ruling as King and interceding as High Priest. His death and resurrection provide payment for sins. The Spirit of God still gives life to sinners and enables them to trust Jesus. The Word of God is still living and powerful. The gospel is still the power of God for salvation. Oh, and did I mention there is a UFC pay-per-view this weekend? In many ways life is Good.

I know it is easy to see the half empty glass. Maybe it is because we have it so well in this country that we have the time and luxury to complain about what we still want. Thank God for what you do have. Amid all the bad news take time to reflect on the good news. Count your blessings.

No, I did not convert to Arminianism at the F.I.R.E. conference in Tillamook. I still firmly hold to the doctrines of grace as taught and affirmed by the Lord Himself and the biblical writers, most notably Paul. 

But Calvinism is not the Gospel, technically speaking. According 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 the Gospel is the proclamation of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for sinners. Regardless of what you believe about election and limited atonement you can sincerely proclaim these core truths of the Gospel. Obviously when Spurgeon made his famous statement about Calvinism being the Gospel he was saying that the great Reformed doctrines of grace are truths extracted from Scripture and not imported or smuggled in. That is to say when we preach so-called Calvinism we are not promoting man-made dogma. If therefore you insist on calling Calvinism gospel perhaps it wold be best to do so using a small “g” to distinguish is from the Gospel of salvation as set forth in the New Testament. After all, we do not require sinners to embrace the Five Points as a condition of salvation, whereas we do insist that they believe the Gospel. 

We Calvinists sometimes put so much emphasis on the Five Points that we miss the beauty and simplicity of the message of the Cross. In so doing we become cold and impotent in our ministry, for the power of God for salvation is in the Gospel message, not TULIP (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18) . Sadly, we hide behind the sovereignty of God as an excuse for no conversions when the fact of the matter is we have left off preaching the simple Gospel to sinners. We become the Frozen Chosen, hunkered down in our air-tight fortresses of doctrinal correctness while the world goes to hell. To top it off we nit-pick at those who use creativity and innovation in reaching sinners and label them as compromisers of the truth.

Nor does the Gospel deliver a powerful punch only in converting the lost–it is also the power of God to those who are being saved. As converted sinners on the progressive path of sanctification we need the basic Gospel truths reinforced repeatedly to keep our faith fresh, alive, and full of power. I believe one reason the Lord has given us the perpetual ordinance of Communion is to remind us continually of the centrality of the Cross (Gospel) in our ongoing experience of salvation.

In connection with all the above, I would like to thank those who planned and attended the F.I.R.E. Conference. It was a great opportunity for renewed and first-time fellowship. Special thanks to the keynote speaker, especially for his sermon on the centrality of the Cross. I came away no less convinced of the truth of so-called Calvinism; but never again will I equate that scheme with the Gospel.